MECHANIC FALLS — The Historical Society building was broken into and vandalized sometime over the past weekend.

Society President Eriks Petersons reported that Bob Malcolm discovered the break-in Monday afternoon upon finding glass from a shattered window scattered about the driveway that runs alongside the historical society’s headquarters in the former Congregational Church on Elm Street.

The downstairs was a mess.

In the office, boxes were yanked from shelves and articles were thrown about. Some photographs were thrown to the floor, their frames smashed.

“The photographs were not damaged and, fortunately, none of our collection of Mechanic Falls memorabilia appears to be directly impacted,” Petersons said.

The most frightening part of the incident, according to Petersons, was not the damage that was done, but what could have happened.

Petersons said it was evident the group of people that broke in must have spent some time in the upstairs portion of the building, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.

“They crushed their smokes on the carpeted floor. I’ve seen a car go up in flames from a cigarette that smoldered in the carpet. That’s one of the town’s oldest buildings. Built in 1848. It could have been tragic,” Petersons said.

It was not only the building that would have gone, but its irreplaceable contents were endangered as well, he said.

“The things we have might not have great monetary value, but they are extremely valuable to our community. Since we moved here we have become more and more a repository for the memories of our community,” Nancy Petersons said.

The society moved from its old headquarters above the town library near the bridge over the Little Androscoggin River about three years ago.

Members met Wednesday night to discuss improving the building’s security.

Police Chief Jeffrey Goss said officer Alan Carr, in charge of the investigation, is following up on a couple of leads that have developed.